One of the things about this long trip away is that I am staying at St. Mary’s of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, IL. Several reasons:

  • It’s CHEAP ($55/night)
  • It’s familiar–it’s where our KINDLE Learning Events are held
  • There’s a great chapel for some Face Time
  • There’s a great walking path around a beautiful lake
  • Lots and lots of deer everywhere–and herons and rabbits and raccoons–it’s wonderful!
  • There’s a swimming pool–old, but quaint
  • There’s free Wi-fi
  • There’s free coffee every morning
  • I don’t have to pack up and change locales when the Willow conference is over
  • They  know me here and they’re nice to me

All well and good, but the one sacrifice is TV. No TV. I know, friends that this is good for me. I know that the very fact that I am missing my morning friends Matt and Meredith (and the lovely way that Ann delivers the news each morning) is a sign that I am too attached to that media. But what I know and what I feel are sometimes two different things. So, this morning, I’m wishing I could see my “buddies” in Bejing and find out how things are going there. Sigh.